Thursday, April 28, 2011

It seems that my husband and I are always on a quest to help our family eat healthier. Over the years we've made a lot of improvements, including switching over to brown rice, substituting at least part whole wheat flour in almost every recipe, eating more fruits and veggies, and fewer processed and snack foods. For the most part, these changes have been relatively painless and are now just how we eat. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride recently, when one of my kids was served white rice at a restaurant and they actually asked us what was wrong with the rice that it didn't have any color. :) Despite our progress, though, the one bad habit that we're having a hard time shaking is our sweet teeth. We've cut down eating desserts to only once a week, which has made a big difference, but still we find that sometimes my kids (and even us adults) miss out on the fun desserts we used to have on a regular basis. That's where recipes like this one I found in my Our Best Bites cookbook come into play. It is sweet enough, without being overwhelmingly sweet, to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth, AND it gets us all to fill up on healthy fresh fruit, like apples, pineapple, and strawberries. We figure it's perfect for an occasional day when we're either looking for a healthier alternative to an after-dinner sugar fix or when we have a lot of fresh fruit we need to eat quickly.

The mild orange flavor and the creamy texture complements the crisp fresh fruit just perfectly. Don't you just want to reach in and grab some for yourself? :)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Recently my little girl turned six and was excited to bring in a fun birthday treat to share with her classmates at school. Since her birthday fell on one of my craziest days of the week, in addition to making them cute and fun, I also needed them to be simple and easy to make. That's when I thought of these cute little cupcake fellows I had seen at a friend's house! The process of decorating them, except the antennae, was simple enough to be a kids' job. The antennae were definitely an adult job, and a little challenging even for me at first, but once I got the system figured out (using a straight sewing pin) it went pretty fast. These would be a perfect treat for a springtime birthday party or for a preschool bug theme. Enjoy!

Place 5 brown m&m's over the cupcake (leaving room for the gumdrop head).

Peel licorice into single strands and cut into approximately 1-inch pieces.
Using the point of a sharp knife (or a sterilized sewing pin), poke two small holes in the top of the gumdrop for the antennae.

Again, using the point of the knife or pin poke the antennae into the holes, taking care not to break the licorice. (it took me a few tries to get it right, but after I got the hang of it, it was much easier).
Place the gumdrop and antennae onto the cupcake.

Smile and enjoy!!!

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

After recently discovering the easy lasagna skillet and cheeseburger skillet dishes for dinners, I was certainly intrigued when I found this recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Skillet over at Taste of Home. It didn't end up tasting much like pepperoni pizza, but it was very well-received up and down the ranks in our house. I liked how quick and easy it was to make and I also like how flexible this recipe can be. Don't like mushrooms? Leave them out. Love black olives? Go ahead and throw some in. As a general rule, I don't tend to like things that call for cream-of-anything soup, but I felt that in this case it actually added a nice flavor to this dish. I'd give this one a four-star rating and will definitely be adding it to our easy recipe file!

Friday, April 22, 2011

When I saw this recipe in my latest copy of Food Network magazine, I literally couldn't stop thinking about them (yes, I can be a little obsessive when it comes to food). I bought the ingredients and tried THREE times to make them without success, for each time I went to make them the kids had devoured my strawberries before I got to them. Finally I sent my husband to the store to buy some more strawberries AFTER the kids went to bed and cooked up a big double batch the next morning! These are supposed to be a knock-off of IHOP's Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes and while I've never had the privilege of eating their version, I can say that these are a culinary treat totally worth a diet cheat day! I couldn't help but smile every time I bit into a REAL CHUNK OF CHEESECAKE and I was totally in love with the graham cracker/cinnamon bits of crust in there too. I figure with a big helping of fresh strawberries on the top, it was practically healthy ;-) and perfect for an impressive Easter brunch.

Directions: Mix the strawberries, jam and 2 tablespoons warm water in a bowl; set aside. (NOTE: If your family likes strawberries as much as mine, you may want to double the topping recipe.)
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Pulse the flour, buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheesecake pieces, keeping them whole.

Coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Working in batches, pour about 1/4 cup batter into the skillet for each pancake. Cook until bubbly on top, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 more minutes.

Transfer the finished pancakes to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Serve the pancakes topped with the strawberry sauce; top with butter, confectioners' sugar or whipped cream, if desired.
Enjoy!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

This healthy spin-off of classic lasagna was was every bit as flavorful (and fun) as I envisioned it would be when I first saw the recipe over at See Jane in the Kitchen. My kids were fascinated with the whole rolling up aspect of it and surprisingly no one missed the meat at all--even my meat-loving boys. :) This dish got a unanimous vote from the family to keep it on the keeper list.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350°. Combine spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese.
Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls. (I made a 1-1/2 batch for my family).
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll. Enjoy!

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About This Blog

My name is Lara and while I'm definitely not a gourmet cook, I do love preparing tasty, healthy meals for my family. Finding new recipes to try and sharing the ones we've already fallen in love with is a passion I've had since college and the reason why I've started this blog! With five kids, I'm usually in a hurry, so you'll find most of these recipes kid friendly and simple to make.